Quicker Than the Eye by Ray Bradbury (EPUB)

Description

The internationally acclaimed author of The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury is a magician at the height of his powers, displaying his sorcerer’s skill with twenty-one remarkable stories that run the gamut from total reality to light fantastic, from high noon to long after midnight. A true master tells all, revealing the strange secret of growing young and mad; opening a Witch Door that links two intolerant centuries; joining an ancient couple in their wild assassination games; celebrating life and dreams in the unique voice that has favored him across six decades and has enchanted millions of readers the world over.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Dust jacket missing and dirt/stains on the outside of the book. When ordering good or very good condition I expect better. Not worth the trouble to return by the time I repackage and go to post office.

⭐A clean, readable copy! A welcome addition to my sci-fi library.

⭐I was not quite sure what I expected. Maybe some of the wonder I felt as an adolescent boy for sci-fi. Oh, I am having some trouble with the weird of one of his other collections.

⭐Bradbury’s stories are brilliant! A must read for any sci-fi reader.

⭐Excellent

⭐John Clute and Peter Nichols (1995) state that Ray Bradbury’s vintage years for short stories were from 1946 to 1955, and that seems to be about right. Collections featuring many of these stories are _The Vintage Bradbury_ (1965) and _Twice Twenty-Two_ (1966). Collections of later stories– such as _The Machineries of Joy_ (1964) and _I Sing the Body Electric_ (1969)– are weaker and softer than his earlier collections._Quicker Than the Eye_ (1996) is a collection of twenty-two late Bradbury stories. I expected to be mildly disappointed by these tales. I am pleased to report that I was not. This is the best batch of Bradbury stories that I have read in a long time. Of course, the stories are not precisely the same as those of the vintage years. The earlier tales were influenced more by _Weird Tales_ and _Dime Detective_, while the later tales are influenced more by _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ and _Playboy_. Both early and late stories have poetic styles, but the poetry in the later tales is more restrained and controlled. In short, the later stories are more literate, if less electrifying.There is another difference worth noting. A recurring subject matter in Bradbury’s early fiction is childhood (especially boyhood). In this collection, however, most of the characters are children who have become adults. Some of these adults look upon the coming of children with a mixture of fear and love (“Remember Sasha?”). Others set out to avenge and protect children (“The Finnegan”).Still others are concerned with the guiding of young people (“That Woman on the Lawn,” “Exchange”). But the central characters are mostly Bradburt-as-an-Adult rather than Bradbury-as-a-Boy.Bradbury’s love of books and libraries is present in this collection. In “Exchange,” a young soldier visits a library and a librarian and finds that you _can_ go home again. In “Last Rites,” an eccentric inventor goes back in time to give absolution to writers who died neglected. “Dorian in Excelsus” involves an imitator of Dorian Gray who went too far out of control.Other stories worthy of note include the title story, about a magic show that delighted the women and embarrassed the men; “Another Fine Mess,” a wonderful Hollywood ghost story; and “The Very Gentle Murders,” which reminded me of an earlier John Collier story. Bradbury’s tale is the more outrageous of the two.

⭐In his rather indulgent afterword, Bradbury hints that he dashes off many of his short stories in two hours or less. What’s this mean for the reader? It means that, in general, the stories are short, even for the genre of short stories. It means that many of them are almost like little sketches of a single, simple idea rather than well-polished texts that contain many conscious layers. It also means that many of the stories are fun and quirky.Bradbury isn’t afraid to take a chance on a notion, and this bravado leads to some misses, but it also leads to some hits that you wouldn’t find in a more thoughtfully-screened author’s collection.Fans of Bradbury will already be prepared for his odd take on dialogue, which is sometimes realistic, but more often riddled with philosophical musings that sound like they are being performed for the sake of an audience.Another interesting feature of Bradbury is his versatility. Going into a story, we never know whether we’re going to get science fiction, horror, comedy, or drama. Sometimes, when we get to the end of the story, the classification is likewise elusive. This unpredictability really gives the genre elements more of a punch when they do come up. If we were to get a shambling monster at the end of every story, it would soon lose its power to affect us. But when a monster appears only twice or so throughout the course of the entire book, we really feel the horror.I highly recommend this collection, simply because the writing is unique and thought-provoking.There are 22 stories in all. The ones that I found to be good were:”Remember Sascha,” a story that manages to be both creepy and heartwarming, draws a brilliant contrast between the affection that a loving couple shares, and the dialogue they maintain with their nervous unborn baby.”The Finnegan” is a great parody of an old Sherlock Holmes story, in which an old man plays detective concerning the disappearance of some young children in the woods.”The Very Gentle Murders” is an amusing farce about an elderly couple that mutually decides that the only satisfying past time each spouse’s attempted murder of the other.”The Witch Door” draws some parallels between a futuristic world in which political trends have continued to the point of the absurd, and the Salem Witch Trial era.”At the End of the Ninth Year” is a bizarre dialogue between a dissatisfied husband and wife, who find an unexpectedly warm and happy resolution to their problems.”Bug” is a great story about a high schooler who can dance so well that he clears the dance floor every night, but gives up dancing as he enters middle age. This might be the best story in the collection.”Once More, Legato” is about a man who seems to read a symphony into the chirping of the birds outside his home.”Exchange” tells the story of a librarian who gets an after-closing visit from a man who used to visit her at the library when he was a boy. This has a great, creepy beginning that makes every turn of the page suspenseful. It is also, along with the equally good “Last Rites,” a celebration of reading and literature.”Free Dirt” is a great story about some graveyard dirt that the old graveyard owner is giving away. An innocent beginning gets more and more frightening. This is another contender for best story in the book.A final contender is “The Other Highway,” which tells the story of an American family that goes off he beaten path to discover a hidden road to small town America. This has some great quotes and images in it that touch on some of the same themes as Fahrenheit 451.

⭐No matter how old Mr. Bradbury got, he never lost his touch. Mr. Bradbury was brilliant at making the mundane world a land of mystery, wonder and glory. This anthology features the master writer with a whole bunch of his wonderfully quirky, bizarre, humbling, tender stories. You read with delight about a young couple shyly exploring love and, with it, a girl’s transition from child to woman. There is a weeping woman who may be a ghost or something else entirely. Two elderly women listen rapturously to the groanings of two vanished comedians. A family has a fateful decision to make when a car drive lands them in a forgotten world.What a joy it is to discover his later works. This novel shows that Bradbury never lost his touch. Time could not dim his glory nor age his powers. For Bradbury fans or even those who’ve never heard of him (where have YOU been?), this anthology is quintessential storytelling.

⭐Ray Bradbury is the master.

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